The present invention relates to an apparatus for irradiating a substance, especially a liquid or gaseous medium, for example blood, in a receptacle via a source of radiation for ionizing rays, with this source of radiation being placed into a housing that can be blocked off, where the source of radiation acts upon the medium that is to be irradiated.
With one known irradiation apparatus of this general type, the housing that accommodates the source of radiation is provided on the side with an open recess in which a portion of the housing that is provided with a irradiation chamber is rotatably mounted The substance or object that is to be irradiated, such as a bottle, is inserted into this irradiation chamber and can be conveyed to the source of radiation by rotating the housing. Since the object can furthermore be rotated about its axis via a turntable that is provided in the irradiation chamber, it is possible to realize a uniform irradiation from the outside. However, despite the considerable structural expense that has been undertaken, a medium that is filled in a bottle or in a bag, and hence is at rest, can be respectively irradiated from only one side of the source of radiation. Furthermore, the time involved for moving the receptacle, and hence the medium that is to be irradiated, past the source of radiation is considerable; in addition, the rotational movement of the receptacle can have an unfavorable effect upon the medium that is to be irradiated. Consequently, the field of application of this known irradiation apparatus is limited, since it cannot be used in particular during operations, for example to irradiate the blood of a patient during an operation.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an irradiation apparatus of the aforementioned general type via which it is possible not only to undertake an extremely intensive and safe irradiation of a medium, but also a flowing medium can flow by in the vicinity of the source of radiation, whereby the radiation dose that is to act upon the medium can be easily set in conformity with conditions, for example as a function of the flow velocity. Furthermore, provision of the irradiation apparatus should be undertaken without difficulty to provide for simple manipulation, yet it must be reliably insured that no rays can pass in an uncontrollable manner toward the outside, and that the irradiation apparatus can be operated in a logical manner and can function appropriately.